Natalia Zinets

KYIV (Reuters). Ukraine and Russia exchanged accusations over shaky negotiations to end a three-month-old war. Russia pounded eastern areas of Ukraine and U.S. legislators promised a huge new weapon package for Kyiv.

Sergei Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister) stated in comments published Saturday that lifting Western sanctions on Russia were part of the peace talks.

Volodymyr Zeleskiy, the Ukrainian president, stated to Polish journalists that there were good chances that talks that have been held without him for more than a month would conclude because Russia has a “playbook of murdering people”. Interfax said.

Ukraine charges Russian troops with atrocities committed in territories they occupied near Kyiv. Moscow disputes the accusations.

Moscow now focuses on the east, south, and failed capture of the capital during the nine-week offensive that left cities in rubble and killed thousands.

Russian forces captured the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, and occupied Mariupol in the southeast. The United Nations is trying to rescue civilians trapped inside a large steel mill.

Lavrov stated to China’s official Xinhua news service that 1.02million people were evacuated from Ukraine after the invasion began on February 24th. According to Ukraine, thousands of people were taken against their will and sent to Russia.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the claims made by either party.

Lavrov claimed that 120,000 Russians and Ukrainian-backed separatists from Ukraine were among the evacuatees – these are known as Donetsk, Luhansk peoples republics. Russia declared them independent shortly before Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

‘COLOSSAL LOSSES’

Moscow refers to the war as “special military operations” in order to dearm and “denazify Ukraine, protect Russian-speaking people against persecution, and stop the United States from using it to threaten Russia.

Ukraine rejects Putin’s accusations of persecution. It claims it is fighting an illegal land grab to completely capture Donetsk/Luhansk. These two regions make up the Donbas.

Britain and the United States support Ukraine’s participation in peace talks, but insist on Kyiv being armed. The President Joe Biden requested $33 billion, including more than $20 billion, in additional aid from the United States Congress.

Funding has enjoyed bipartisan congressional support. Nancy Pelosi (House of Representatives) stated that the funding package would be passed by her party “as soon possible”.

Although Ukraine admits that it lost control of certain eastern villages and towns, Moscow claims its gains were at the expense of a force already exhausted from defeats near Moscow.

Oleksiy Arestovych (Ukrainian presidential advisor) said that although we are suffering serious losses, Russians have much greater losses. They have huge losses.”

According to Ukrainian officials, Russia had begun bombarding Donetsk’s frontline with artillery and mortar bombs in an attempt to prevent the Ukrainian troops regrouping.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia is preparing offensives in areas like Lyman in Donetsk, Sievierodonetsk, and Popasna (Luhansk). According to the military, Russia is “continuing regrouping, increasing fire efficiency, and improving position in the South”.

Russia’s defense ministry claimed that its troops had attacked Ukrainian weapons storage facilities, platoon strongholds as well artillery posts and drones. Russia reported that a Russian diesel submarine had attacked military targets in Black Sea with Kalibr cruise missiles. This is the first such strike from a submarine.

“IT CAN’T BESCRIBED”

Russia claimed that its long-range, high precision missiles destroyed a Kyiv rocket factory.

Ukraine claims that a terrorist attack on Thursday targeted a residence building in Kiev, injuring civilians as well as a radio producer from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (supported by the United States).

According to the broadcaster, the body of Vira Hyrych (producer) was discovered in the rubble.

Officials from the West claimed that Russia suffered less casualties following its smaller invasion, but still had a large number of victims.

Britain’s defense ministry stated Saturday that “shortcomings remain in Russian tactical coordination.” It stated in a daily bulletin that Russia was forced to combine and redeploy disparate units depleted by failed advances in the northeastern Ukraine.

Mariupol has been the site of some of the bloodiest fighting and greatest humanitarian catastrophes. The city was made a deserted by Russian bombardment, siege and two months’ worth Russian bombing. Ukraine claims that 100,000 civilians are still in the city.

Emergency workers began removing bodies from the streets in parts of Mariupol held now by Russian soldiers. People who were still alive among the devastation reminisced about their terror.

According to Viktoria Nicholaseva (54), who was in a basement with her family during the fighting, “We were hungry and the child was crying.”

“We thought, This is it. The end.”

A Ukrainian soldier expressed hope for the safety of soldiers and injured personnel at the plant. Previous evacuation attempts have been unsuccessful.

Captain Sviatoslav Palmar stated, “I believe that all of the defenders Mariupol – the troops that remained there, the wounded, and the alive – will be able save these heroes’ lives.”